La Liga: Atleti Aim to Kickstart Their Title Challenge

Atletico Madrid vs Mallorca

Second-placed Atletico Madrid aim to get their title push back on track on Saturday when sixth-placed Real Mallorca are the visitors to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

Not long ago, Diego Simeone’s Atleti were top of La Liga. But a shock defeat away to Leganes followed by a home draw with Villarreal has opened the door to Real Madrid, and the La Liga 2025 betting odds have shifted sharply across the city towards the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mallorca boss Jagoba Arrasate took over last summer after Los Piratas finished 15^th last term, and he has led his team to a top six place, but a downturn in form leaves them vulnerable with just three points separating them from 12^th placed Sevilla. Last week, Mallorca lost 1-0 at home to Real Betis and, with Los Rojiblancos priced at 1.36 to win this clash, I expect more misery for Mallorca on Saturday.

 

Talking Points

Euro boost for Atletico                                 

Los Rojiblancos put their La Liga stutter behind them on Wednesday night as they hammered RB Salzburg 4-1 to take their place in the Champions League top eight. Atleti took the lead in Austria with just five minutes on the clock as Giuliano Simeone slid home his first Champions League goal. The manager’s son then laid on the second goal for Antoine Griezmann, and the Frenchman completed his brace in first half injury time.

Salzburg scored a stoppage time consolation but not before Rodrigo De Paul had teed up Marcos Llorente for the fourth. This was a welcome lift for Atleti after their La Liga frustrations.

Despite raining 19 shots down on the Leganes goal, Simeone’s men could not beat their hosts’ keeper. In Los Rojiblancos’ home game against Villarreal last weekend, despite having 20 shots and eight on target to the Yellow Submarine’s one, they had to settle for a 1-1 draw.

Sandwiched in between these two games was a 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen, and continued success in Europe suggest Atleti’s La Liga woes could be nothing more than a blip.       

 

Arrasate has had enough of VAR

Mallorca boss Jagoba Arrasate expressed his anger in the aftermath of Los Piratas defeat to Betis last weekend after his midfield general Omar Mascarell was sent off midway through the second half. The red card for the 31-year-old’s tackle on Jesus Rodriguez looked harsh and, when Betis winger Cedric Bakambu headed home a 96^th-minute winner, Arrasate’s anger turned to fury.

“I am falling out of love with this sport,” he fumed in his post-match interview. “I am losing all desire for anything. We have been feeling ignored for a month and we see actions that happen in every game, you stop a frame and it falls against us and the other way round it is not reviewed. These are situations that are very tiring, and I feel sad.”

“Thursday will come, and I will look at who is in the VAR because they have become the protagonists of the game,” he added.

He has a point as, in real time, Mascarell’s tackle didn’t look so bad but a still frame made it appear to be worse.    

After a superb first half of the campaign, Los Piratas’ La Liga 2025 results have taken a sharp downturn, and they are in danger of dropping out of the race for European places. Apart from his frustrations with VAR, Arrasate is unhappy with his team’s lack of goals recently, with four blanks in their last four games in all competitions. 

Canadian striker Cyle Larin with five goals is the team’s top scorer and Spain Under-21 star Robert Navarro was preferred against Betis, but there may be a recall for Kosovan hitman Vedat Muriqi for the clash with Atletico Madrid.    

 

History

Mallorca have had plenty of success in this fixture, with 12 wins to Atletico’s 16 in all competitions since 1997, though Los Rojiblancos have won the last four meetings and the last three by a 1-0 scoreline.

With four wins from the last six, Atleti have been in good league form until the last week, while Mallorca have drifted off the pace with only two wins from six.

Atletico are unbeaten at home in the league with eight wins and three draws, while Mallorca have yet to draw a game on the road, with five victories and five losses.  

 

Betting Tip

This looks to be a pretty safe home win with Real Mallorca priced at SBOTOP odds of 7.62 to win, 3.93 to draw, and the Double Chance: Win or Draw at 2.79.

Mallorca’s lack of goals and Atleti’s long-term form leads me to believe they will do better than their customary 1-0 against Los Piratas, which you can back at 4.42.  

   

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